Chapter 144 Ashes
Before Jiang Qiu finally lost consciousness, there was only one thought in his mind: Xie An is a man without martial ethics.
He was sitting cross-legged on a rock, listening to Xie An's spit-filled speeches about "the destiny of the land", "joining in this great cause", "the Demon Lord Feng Li is ruthless and will be crushed to ashes", and "as long as you follow me, I can give you a better life".
I was still furiously complaining in my mind—[Dude, your lines are 90% identical to those in the melodrama I've watched. And you're still trying to turn me over? I've read the spoilers. You're just cannon fodder who won't survive more than three episodes. You think you can drag me down with you just by tricking me a couple of times?]
Just as he finished rolling his eyes for the 30th time, he felt a sharp knife strike to the back of his neck. As his vision went dark, Jiang Qiu had only one thought: [Fuck, I should have stopped wasting time talking to him and just hit him with a brick...]
When Jiang Qiu woke up again, he found himself tied to a cold jade bed, his wrists wrapped in silver chains. He moved his fingers, only to find his spiritual power was locked away. Then, belatedly realizing it, he panicked—[No way, cannon fodder actually has this configuration? Am I watching the abridged version with spoilers?]
"woke up?"
A familiar voice came from the side. Jiang Qiu squinted his eyes and tilted his head, only to find a familiar shadow emerging from the darkness.
Bai Yichen's voice came from the side. The man, dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe, was holding an enamel jar with the words "The Most Handsome Man in the Immortal Cultivation World" printed on it, and was slowly drinking from something. Jiang Qiu squinted and almost laughed out loud—the jar was actually filled with goji berries, the "millennium goji berries" specially supplied by the system.
"Brother, is this system of yours sponsored by a senior health product store?" Jiang Qiu thought furiously, "And with your Taoist robe and enamel pot, it would be a shame if you didn't go tell stories under the overpass."
Just after he finished complaining, Jiang Qiu suddenly felt something was wrong.
How did an ancient person in the world of immortal cultivation know how to soak wolfberries?
Isn't this something used exclusively for modern cattle and horses?
Considering all the previous events and some of Xie An's inexplicable words, the unknown thread in Jiang Qiu's heart suddenly became clear.
He asked why the system suddenly said that there were other similar creatures in this world.
He said that after coming to the Northern Territory, he always felt like he was being watched.
This feeling turned out to be correct.
This Bai Yichen is a traversal person with his own system just like him!
Bai Yichen put down the enamel pot, walked to the bedside, looked down at him, the sinister look in his eyes almost overflowing: "Jiang Qiu, how are you?"
Jiang Qiu twitched his lips, wanting to speak, but found himself silenced. He could only express his disdain with his eyes—[If you have something to say, just say it. Don't use this useless nonsense. Your acting is worse than Xie An's.]
Bai Yichen seemed to understand his eyes and suddenly smiled, a hypocritical smile: "Do you think that idiot Xie An can save you?" He leaned in close, his voice very low, "Do you think I don't know that you traveled through time? Do you think I don't know that you have been looking for a way back? Do you think I don't know...how well Feng Li hid you for you?"
Jiang Qiu's heart skipped a beat.
He was stunned by the undisguised resentment in Bai Yichen's eyes.
This person must be mentally ill!
"Who do you think you are?" Bai Yichen suddenly grabbed his chin with such force that it seemed as if he was going to crush his bones. "How could a modern person who came here for no apparent reason take over my luck? How could someone like Feng Li protect you with all his might?"
Jiang Qiu felt the pinch sting so much that it hurt, but his mind became clearer. [So, you're jealous. Jealous that I've snatched away your star power? But forget it. With your character, you wouldn't have achieved anything even without me.]
He remembered that when he first came here, he felt that this guy was vicious and not a human being. Now it seems that this guy had traveled here from the very beginning. He thought Feng Li would follow the original plot, but he didn't expect that I, who also traveled here, would appear halfway.
"Do you think Feng Li is sincere to you?" Bai Yichen laughed even more happily, his saliva almost spraying on Jiang Qiu's face, "He just treats you as a plaything. Once the novelty wears off, you will still be dead!"
Jiang Qiu ignored him and began to mentally review - [Feng Li must be going crazy right now. With his temper, he must have skinned Xie An alive. But seriously, Xie An is pretty miserable as a cannon fodder. Not only does he have a crush on me, but he's also being used as a pawn by Bai Yichen. I bet the grass on his grave is three feet tall now...]
Just as he was thinking about it, a deafening roar suddenly came from outside the cave.
The whole mountain was shaking, the chains on the cold jade bed were clanging, and the stalactites on the cave ceiling were falling down with crackling sounds.
Bai Yichen's face changed instantly, and the enamel jar in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the wolfberries scattered all over the floor.
Jiang Qiu didn't realize that he had quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The next second, the stone door of the cave was crushed into powder by a huge force.
Feng Li's figure rushed in with a monstrous demonic aura. His dark robe was stained with blood, and his black hair was messily stuck to his cheeks. His peach blossom eyes, which usually looked a bit nonchalant, were now so red that they seemed to be dripping with blood.
He saw Jiang Qiu tied to the cold jade bed at a glance. When his eyes fell on the chain on Jiang Qiu's wrist, the demonic energy around him instantly became extremely violent.
Jiang Qiu could even hear the sound of the air being torn apart, and the runes on the wall of the cave exploded one by one. Bai Yichen was forced to retreat repeatedly under this pressure, with blood flowing from the corners of his mouth.
"Let him go."
Feng Li's voice sounded like it had crawled from the depths of hell, each word icy and filled with a murderous aura. In all the years Jiang Qiu had known him, he had never seen him lose his composure like this. This man was a feared demonic god in the world of cultivation. He had remained impassive when he had razed the world of cultivation, but now, seeing him tied up, his eyes brimmed with a madness that threatened to consume him.
[Damn, this idiot is going crazy again.] Jiang Qiu's heart tightened, but he also felt an inexplicable warmth.
Bai Yichen covered his chest and suddenly laughed strangely, "Feng Li, you really came." He suddenly pinched Jiang Qiu's neck, his fingertips emitting the system's unique golden light, "You want him to live? Sure, use up all your power, and I'll let him go."
Jiang Qiu coughed from being pinched. The pain of his spiritual energy flowing backwards made his vision black out, but in his heart he cursed furiously - [Bai Yichen, you bastard! Come at me if you dare! Bullying an unarmed person... Oh no, I'm really unarmed now. Just wait, when I get out, I'm going to format your system!]
He struggled to look at Feng Li, but saw no hesitation on the devil's face.
Feng Li's gaze was fixed on him, as if he was checking whether he was injured. In those eyes, which were always filled with possessiveness, there were now emotions that Jiang Qiu could not understand: anger, fear, apprehension, and a paranoia that was almost destructive.
"good."
Feng Li's voice was very soft, but it sounded like a thunderclap in Jiang Qiu's ears.
Jiang Qiu's pupils suddenly shrank, and he shook his head frantically—[No! Feng Li, you're fucking crazy! How are you going to come back with me to roast sweet potatoes if you lose your power? How are you going to help me beat up those old men who always try to take advantage of me? If you lose your power, I really don't want you anymore, you idiot!]
The world of immortal cultivation wishes Feng Li dead,
If Feng Li loses his power, the final outcome will be death.
But his throat was blocked by the silencing spell, and he could only make hoarse sounds. He was so anxious that tears were about to come out.
Bai Yichen smiled even more proudly. He took out a water mirror from the system, and on it was the scene of Jiang Qiu being taken away by Xie An.
The fool Xie An was seriously trying to persuade him to rebel, and the idiotic expression on Jiang Qiu's face was clearly captured.
"Look, Xie An doesn't know anything." Bai Yichen deliberately said slowly, "But I do. I know what the 'WiFi' you mentioned is, I know how delicious the 'takeout' is, and I know you're secretly trying to find a way back... Feng Li, look, how many secrets is he hiding from you?"
"He's always wanted to leave you. As long as he gets the chance, he'll find a way to escape from you. You'll never be able to find him again. Hahahaha... Feng Li, you're so pitiful."
Bai Yichen laughed crazily,
He leaned closer to Jiang Qiu's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I am the protagonist of this world! It's you, you who destroyed everything for me! I was supposed to unify the world and dominate the world of immortal cultivation, but because of you, my luck is gone!"
[Fuck, so this is why you hate me?] Jiang Qiu rolled his eyes inwardly. [With your IQ, even without me, you wouldn't be able to accomplish anything, okay? And you're still trying to unify the world? You're lucky you could unify all the square dance aunties!]
Jiang Qiu burst into tears because of Bai Yichen's pinching.
He thought Feng Li would not be stupid enough to really believe Bai Yichen's words.
However, he didn't expect that Feng Li really started to circulate his demonic energy, and the aura around him weakened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That was a sign of power dissipation. The pain of reverse flow in the meridians was enough to make any cultivator collapse, but Feng Li didn't even frown. He just stared at him, as if he would disappear if he blinked.
Jiang Qiu's heart suddenly felt like it was being tightly gripped by something, making it feel sour and bitter.
He remembered the first day Feng Li took possession of him. This man threw him on the couch and tortured him for seven days and seven nights, but secretly supplied him with spiritual power at night. He still knew whether he felt good or not.
He remembered that he casually said he wanted to eat candied haws, and the next day Feng Li came back with a basket of candied haws, which was enough to make him eat to death.
He remembered that he was put in solitary confinement because of his secret escape, but the man had been guarding outside the door for three days and three nights, cursing him as a "disobedient thing" but his eyes were full of fear.
This man was sinister, paranoid, and possessive to the point of being pathological. To keep him by his side, he was willing to slaughter the entire cultivation world. But now, this demon who was willing to destroy everything for him was destroying the cultivation that he was so proud of with his own hands.
The feeling of being touched is real, and the fear is also real.
Jiang Qiu's heart felt like a mess.
He can disperse my power now, but will he chop off my hands and feet to keep me in the future? The way he looks at me, it's as if he's afraid I'll disappear in the next second...
He looked at the black blood flowing from Feng Li's lips, and the thick black air swirled around him.
In those eyes that always seemed to be filled with aggression, there was now only pure fear, the fear that he would leave.
[Fuck, how did the plot get to this point? ]
Jiang Qiu looked at the increasing amount of black blood flowing from Feng Li's lips, and watched the demonic energy around him dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye, and suddenly made up his mind.
He suddenly looked up and gave Feng Li a very bright smile, like a child who had stolen candy.
[Fuck, this time-travel farce should end soon.]
Feng Li was stunned for a moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then was replaced by great panic.
He knew Jiang Qiu too well, and when he showed this expression, it was definitely not a good thing.
But he was too late to stop it, Jiang Qiu had already self-destructed.
Jiang Qiu suddenly activated the spiritual power in his body, and the golden elixir spun wildly in his dantian, causing him to feel a tearing pain.
Bai Yichen was still laughing wildly, completely unaware of the abnormality of the people around him. It was not until the destructive force rose into the sky that the smile on his face froze.
"Feng Li." Jiang Qiu used all his strength to break through the shackles of the silence spell. His voice was hoarse but clear, "Goodbye."
Feng Li suddenly looked up, the calmness in his eyes instantly replaced by overwhelming panic. He rushed forward like a madman, but was violently blown away by the blast of spiritual power, crashing against the cave wall, and a fishy-sweet taste surged in his throat.
"No--!"
The shrill roar echoed in the cave, carrying with it a despair that could destroy the world.
Jiang Qiu looked at Feng Li's face, which was filled with disbelief, and saw the pure fear and despair that appeared in his eyes for the first time. He suddenly felt a little funny and distressed - [So you are afraid too.]
He looked at Bai Yichen again. The smugness on his face had completely frozen, replaced by an expression of disbelief and horror. He probably never understood, until his death, how this modern man, who constantly proclaimed, "Life is the most important thing," could choose to perish together.
[Stupid guy, I've watched 800 melodramas, so I have some awareness.]
Before the strong light from the golden elixir's self-explosion swallowed everything, Jiang Qiu took a last look at Feng Li.
The Demon Lord Feng Li lay on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on him, as if he wanted to carve his appearance into his soul. There was shock, fear, despair, and too many other emotions that Jiang Qiu could not understand in his eyes.
[Forget it, if you don’t understand, then don’t understand.]
Jiang Qiu thought.
[It's even. Let's not meet again in the next life. ]
A violent explosion echoed, and the cavern roof collapsed. The force of the Jindan's self-detonation was enough to overturn an entire mountain. Bai Yichen was shattered by the force at the center of the blast, his broken system emitting a short alarm before being completely annihilated in the flames.
Feng Li was hit by the edge of the air wave, his internal organs were shattered, but he did not die because of his obsession.
He lay in the ruins, looking at the place where Jiang Qiu disappeared, and a hoarse sound came from his throat, like a wounded beast wailing.
Scalding liquid slid from the corners of his eyes and dripped onto the cold stone chips.
Feng Li stretched out his hand, trying to grab something, but only got nothing.
He destroyed everything, but in the end he couldn't keep him.
Liar, liar!
Feng Li lay on the ground, looking at the messy ruins, and suddenly laughed, a laugh that was uglier than crying.
The panicked cries of the Demon Realm disciples could be heard in the distance, but Feng Li turned a deaf ear to them. He simply lay there quietly, letting the cold stone chips bury his body, as if he wanted to follow the dissipating flames to a place without pain.
Outside the cave, the setting sun was slowly setting, dyeing half the sky red, just like the sparks that splashed on Jiang Qiu's robe when he secretly roasted sweet potatoes for him that day.
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